Week in Review: Returning to Rock Bottom

[Nick Nelson]

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Weekly Nutshell:
It's honestly just hard to comprehend. I know the 2025 Minnesota Twins are not this bad. We saw what they are capable of when they went 18-8 in a month of May that included a 13-game winning streak. This is a team that, according to both projection models and betting lines, was at least a co-favorite in the AL Central heading into the season, and at times they have looked like it. Competency was the baseline expectation here.

But over the past couple of weeks, much like the first few, the Twins have resembled one of the worst teams you will ever witness on a major-league field. It's not just the losing, which has been relentless. It's how they're losing: fumbling and failing in every phase of the game, committing mind-boggling blunders on a regular basis and being blatantly outclassed by their opponents. Minnesota's formerly elite pitching staff has dissolved into disaster, the offense remains woefully inadequate, and at a simple fundamental level, this team has been nothing short of disgraceful. 

After dropping five of six for a second consecutive week, once again getting blown out multiple times, the Twins have sunk back below the .500 mark and into fourth place. This is a club that does neither the big things nor the little things well, and whose biggest strength has been transformed into a glaring weakness, leaving them with little leg left to stand on. 

As we approach July and the trade deadline, the Twins are looking like sellers and cellar-dwellers. Heading into another challenging stretch of the schedule, they've demonstrated no ability to stop the bleeding or redirect their fate. Disheartening doesn't even begin to describe it. But it's not too late yet.

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/16 through Sun, 6/22
***
Record Last Week: 1-5 (Overall: 37-40)
Run Differential Last Week: -17 (Overall: -10)
Standing: 4th Place in AL Central (11.0 GB) 

Last Week's Game Results:

Game 72 | CIN 6, MIN 5: Bullpen Forfeits Late Lead, Twins Lose By One Again

• Stewart: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, L

Game 73 | CIN 4, MIN 2: Rain-Shortened Snoozer Leads to Sixth Straight Loss

• Ober: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER

Game 74 | MIN 12, CIN 5: Lineup Unleashes at Last as Losing Streak Snaps

• Buxton: 3-6, 2 HR

Game 75 | MIL 17, MIN 6: Brewers Bash Twins into Submission in Total Debacle

• Twins pitching: 19 H allowed

Game 76 | MIL 9, MIN 0: New Lows Reached in a Messy, Miserable Performance

• Twins offense: 4 H, 1 XBH

Game 77 | MIL 9, MIN 8: Comeback Falls Short After Pitching Gets Pounded Again

• Festa: 4.2 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 3 BB

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NEWS & NOTES

This was actually an uncommonly quiet week on the roster and injury front, which is altogether welcome news. The Twins made zero MLB transactions over the past seven days, avoiding any new injuries while continuing to play the waiting game on recovering players like Pablo López, Zebby Matthews and Royce Lewis (none of whom are particularly close to returning).

There were however a few noteworthy developments on the farm. Austin Martin, who has missed most of the first half due to multiple hamstring injuries, started a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League on Saturday. He's got some catching up to do after all the missed time, but this is the first step toward working his way back and potentially factoring in for the big-league club during the second half. Meanwhile top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez, who's been sidelined for almost all of June in Triple-A with a hip injury, also started at rehab in the FCL. Certainly a name worth watching as the Twins grow increasingly desperate for a jolt of life.

HIGHLIGHTS

Byron Buxton is the main attraction for Twins fans, and really the lone attraction right now. Buxton was seeing red in Cincinnati, clubbing four home runs in three games while also adding a double and striking out just twice in 14 plate appearances. He added two more home runs on Sunday against the Brewers, pushing his season total to 17 as he charges toward a second career All-Star appearance. Buxton has seven home runs in his past 10 games and is slugging .575 on the year, fourth-best in baseball behind Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani. 

The premier power is of course awesome to see, but Buxton's materializing patience is perhaps even more intriguing than the hot swing. He drew four more walks in six games last week, and now has 12 in June with only 10 strikeouts. It's a remarkable spike in a discipline, and we'll see how long it can sustain. Buxton is legitimately playing at an MVP-caliber level right now.

 

No one else on the Twins can come close to such a characterization – thus all the losing in spite of Buxton's brilliance – but there have been a handful of solid performers. Ryan Jeffers joined Buxton in having a monster series against the Reds, tallying four hits – including a homer and a double – with four RBIs in just one-and-a-half games. He added another home run against Milwaukee on Sunday, his sixth. 

Brooks Lee saw his hitting streak end at 19 games with an 0-for-4 on Saturday, but bounced back with a four-hit game on Sunday, helping to make up for some truly atrocious defensive play in the infield. (For the record, I remain extremely skeptical of Lee's impact potential until he develops a semblance of power or patience, neither of which were on display in a week where seven of his eight hits were singles and he drew one walk against six strikeouts.)

LOWLIGHTS

The most glaring low point of the week, and really one of the most pitiful moments I can remember as a Twins fan, was watching Jonah Bride come out to pitch on Friday for a fourth time in the span of 15 days. It came at the end of another non-competitive blowout loss in which the Twins lineup was carved up by a 23-year-old who took a perfect game into the seventh, and the pitching staff was pummeled for 17 runs on 19 hits. 

Bride did his part to put the game thoroughly out of reach, allowing five runs in his one inning of work, but plenty of actual pitchers played their own roles. Joe Ryan was okay, allowing three runs in 5 ⅓ innings before the floodgates opened on the underbelly of the Twins bullpen. Justin Topa got clobbered for five earned runs while recording only one out. Joey Wentz followed by surrendering four earned runs in 1 ⅓. 

Friday marked the fifth time in 14 games that Twins pitchers allowed double-digit runs, after doing so zero times in their first 61 games. They came just short of adding a sixth and seventh when they allowed nine runs on Saturday and Sunday. What once felt like the biggest reason to believe in the Twins now feels like the biggest barrier to having any faith whatsoever. You can't win games if you can't get people out and that has far too often been the case for a pitching staff that is totally imploding here in the month of June, where the Twins are 6-14.

 

When the pitchers aren't staking opponents to untouchable leads, they are too frequently coming up short in crucial spots. That led to a third consecutive one-run loss on Tuesday, in the opener against the Reds, with Brock Stewart giving up a devastating two-run double to TJ Friedl just after the Twins had managed to steal away a lead from Cincinnati. Stewart's letdown — admittedly a rare one from a pitcher who's been mostly been very good — came on the heels of Jhoan Durán and Cole Sands giving up back-to-back walk-offs in Houston. Everywhere you look, guys just aren't getting it done.

That includes the entire rotation, which continues to look very underwhelming in the absence of López and Matthews. In six games last week, Twins starters posted a 6.82 ERA over 30 ⅓ innings, with not one genuinely impressive outing. At this point there's no reason to feel much confidence in anyone aside from Ryan. On Sunday, David Festa gave up eight earned runs for the second time in four starts since being recalled from the minors, casting serious doubt on his readiness to succeed in the big leagues. The Twins have no choice but to stick with him, as their rotation depth suffered another crushing blow over the weekend when Andrew Morris was placed on the IL in Triple-A with a forearm strength. The reinforcements have run dry and the current mix is cratering.

 

Offensively, the Twins ended the week on somewhat of a high note, churning out eight runs in an effort to erase another massive deficit from the pitching staff, but for the most part there was little to like outside of Buxton's heroics. Even in a game like Sunday's, where the lineup could have been poised to overcome another abhorrent showing from the staff, there were too many letdowns and missed opportunities to declare a success. 

Thirteen of Minnesota's 18 hits were singles, including all four from Carlos Correa, who is slugging .353 since last homering on May 30th. The Twins hit four home runs in the game but three came with the bases empty. They went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 men on base in a one-run loss. Trevor Larnach watched strike three sail over the middle of the plate with two outs in the ninth and the tying run in scoring position. It all speaks to how broken this ballclub is. Even on a good day, they're pretty bad.

Which brings me to the final and most egregious blemish on the Twins' performance: defense and fundamentals. Over the past week, Rocco Baldelli's club has played the kind of baseball that would make a little league coach shake their head in disbelief. 

Lee, son of a coach and a heralded "baseball IQ" guy, failed to run out a dropped third strike to end Saturday’s game, even as it skipped far from the plate. He then followed up with a comedy of errors at third base on Sunday, booting back-to-back plays that belied his defensive rep. Correa, whose sure-handed glove has been the only redeeming quality of a lackluster campaign, lost a pop-up in partly-cloudy conditions and let it drop. Jeffers launched a throw into center field on a steal attempt, scoring a run. Willi Castro forgot how many outs there were and didn’t turn a double play that should’ve been automatic. (Was that last week or the week before? I honestly can't even remember.)

These are not bad breaks or moments of misfortune; they are mental lapses and execution failures that reflect a team completely out of sync. Don't take my word for it.

“You want to sum it up in one word, it’s embarrassing,” Jeffers admitted after Saturday's game. “We’re big league ballplayers and we’re not playing like a big league ballclub.” That accountability is appreciated, but for fans watching this sloppy, dismal display — the very brand of uninspired ball that defined the team’s miserable early-season funk — it’s maddening to see history repeating itself. The truth is becoming harder to deny with each gaffe and mounting loss: this is probably no mere slump. This might just be who the Twins are, at least under their current leadership. Given all that's taken place surrounding it, that 13-game winning streak in May increasingly looks like the fluke.

TRENDING STORYLINE

Down in Triple-A, Edouard Julien has begun to heat up at last. He consistently struggled to find any kind of power stroke in the minors or majors during the first two and a half months of the season, but turned a corner last week in St. Paul's series against the Toledo Mud Hens. In six games, Julien went 9-for-23 with three home runs and six RBIs, also drawing six walks. In his first 36 games at Triple-A following the early-May demotion, he had two homers and 11 RBIs. 

 

To be clear: This is a very small sample and no one is denying that. Possibly Julien has just run into a bit of a random hot streak rather than unlocking substantive improvements that will translate to the major-league level. But this is a striking outburst, and it's not like Julien is an unproven hitter. He's showing a lot of confidence in the box right now. We'll take that.

Another name to watch in Triple-A is Aaron Sabato, the 2020 first-round draft pick who faded from prospect relevance after failing to distinguish himself in the low minors. But the 26-year-old first baseman is enjoying a breakthrough season and was recently promoted to the Saints, where he's already catching eyes with his loud contact and evolved plate approach. 

 

Sabato, even more than Julien, should be viewed through a lens of small-sample skepticism. He's played all of nine games at Triple-A and had fallen completely off the radar entering this year, with good cause. To even ponder the idea of a big-league promotion feels like an overreaction, which is also true of Julien to a degree.

But, we are at the point where overreactions need to be strongly considered, even in the form of a nominal shakeup to unsettle the stifling status quo. One big problem with this Twins offense, beyond the injuries and slumps and Correa disappointment, is that there are three position players on the roster who have legitimately almost no chance of doing anything at the plate. It's no coincidence Buxton has hit six straight solo homers when you consider that the ninth spot in the order is so often occupied by someone like Christian Vázquez, Bride or DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

Vázquez isn't going anywhere, but Keirsey Jr. probably should and Bride absolutely should be gone yesterday. His utility to the roster as an oft-used mop-up man on the mound has become a sad joke, and when it comes to contributing in the ways he's actually supposed to, Bride has been a huge negative.

If the Twins are going to start playing like a big league ballclub, as Jeffers urged, then it's past time to start purging the non-big league ballplayers from the roster. 

LOOKING AHEAD

Things get no easier. The Twins are going to have a heck of a time trying to escape this death spiral, with seven games against quality competition on tap. First the Mariners travel to Target Field for a four-game series, subjecting the lineup to some very high-quality right-handed pitching (all the more reason to give a Julien a look), and then it's off to Detroit for three games against the MLB-leading Tigers. Detroit has widened its advantage over Minnesota in the division to 11 games, and the Twins are at great risk of seeing that number grow even further in the coming week.

The more pertinent concern at this point, though, is losing ground to a wild-card contending team like Seattle. The division is quickly beginning to look out of reach, but the postseason isn't. As bleak as things are right now, vibes can shift quickly and we've seen it happen all too many times over the past few seasons. As long as they can hang within range of the .500 mark, the Twins — poised to potentially resurge in the second half as key injured players return — can't be counted out.

That said, the clock is ticking and the reality of the looming trade deadline is unignorable. If the Twins determine by mid-to-late July that contention isn't viable for this season, it would simply be irresponsible to stand still and wait around for things to get better. If this is really what this team is, then its time to start taking it apart. 

We're not quite there yet. But unless the freefalling Twins can't find a way to steal some unlikely victories against the Mariners and Tigers in these next seven days, those conversations are by necessity going to need to start taking center stage. 

MONDAY, JUNE 23: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Bryan Woo v. RHP Bailey Ober
TUESDAY, JUNE 24: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Luis Castillo v. RHP Chris Paddack
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP George Kirby v. RHP Joe Ryan
THURSDAY, JUNE 26: MARINERS @ TWINS — RHP Emerson Hancock v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson
FRIDAY, JUNE 27: TWINS @ TIGERS — RHP David Festa v. RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long
SATURDAY, JUNE 28: TWINS @ TIGERS — RHP Bailey Ober vs Casey Mize
SUNDAY, JUNE 29: TWINS @ TIGERS — RHP Chris Paddack v. LHP Tarik Skubal

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[howeda7]

At some point you have to do something. Fire Rocco and give Garenhire or Tingler a shot. It might not help but it sure can't hurt. 

[Mike Sixel]

Blow. It. Up.

[Eris]

“The Twins made zero MLB transactions over the past seven days, avoiding any new injuries ”

Castro was a scratch today because of a sore wrist that he originally injured in Cincinnati. While not expected to be put on the IL, Castro was presumably unavailable to PH for Bride in the 8th inning today with a runner on third. Why else is would we send Bride to bat with RISP trailing by 1 run, and down to the last 4 outs with Castro on the bench. 

[tony&rodney]

The pitching has been a little disappointing lately but until such time as the Twins roster players who actually turn batted balls into outs I'm simply sympathetic to the plight of the pitchers. The pitchers cannot throw balls down in the zone with runners on base because those are not blocked. Grounders slide through and our outfielders wait a fair amount of time to determine where the ball is going which often results in drops. One can blame the pitchers but I wonder how different our pitchers would look in front of Milwaukee defenders. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Nick, Unfortunately your article about the Twins returning to rock bottom, was spot on. Every year I go to spring training at Fort Myers, get excited and worked up about this being the year the Twins will win the World Series, then this happens. The losses pile up. I count how many years it has been since 1991.  Then I get discouraged. Then the draft comes around and injuries happen and the Twins fall further and further behind the Tigers/Guardians/Royals/White Sox and then the Yankees come to town and we are humiliated again. But you know what else happens? Twins' baseball ceases to be fun for me and I shake my head and wonder what is wrong with the Twins. If I had a normal life, instead of my asking, "What is wrong with the Twins?", I would be asking the question, "What is wrong with me for spending my time like this?"  But I don't have a normal life. I'm addicted to being a Twins' fan. However, I don't have any other addicted Twins' fans here in North Carolina, with whom to bond. I'm alone, adrift in a sea of mediocracy...a sea of despair. Cognitive dissonance is a term some have used to explain sports fans' blind loyalty, in spite of the same disappointing results being repeated year after year. I'm not sure if that is correct, but I do know I have just spent the last hour of my life trying to understand and explain why I keep doing this. 

[Vanimal46]

There’s no player accountability for making fundamental mistakes. Haven’t had that in years. Why would Brooks high baseball IQ Lee care about hustling on a passed ball final out when he’s gonna be in the lineup tomorrow? Rocco probably whispered to him “Hey bruh, next time if you feel like it, jog it out low key.” 

1 hour ago, Nick Nelson said:

As bleak as things are right now, vibes can shift quickly and we've seen it happen all too many times over the past few seasons. As long as they can hang within range of the .500 mark, the Twins — poised to potentially resurge in the second half as key injured players return — can't be counted out.

There’s the fundamental flaw with our fanbase. What does a .500 club do for anyone? I couldn’t care less about competing for the last wild card spot and get dominated by better teams. Hell, we’ve seen better teams like Milwaukee run laps around us in every facet of the game. 

[dberthia]

There's just nothing left to get excited about. Normally I'd say let's fire Rocco and start unloading players, but I have no faith in the decision makers to tinker with the roster in a way that's actually going to benefit the team (short or long term). This organization sticks with players and managers well beyond the point where it's obvious they contribute little or nothing. At this point I don't even have any ideas on how to fix things, short of a total system purge along with new ownership. It's sad, really.

[Peter]

Need to start winning again which they will! I’m not giving up on season nor should you!

[Doctor Wu]

You wrote about Buxton:

He drew four more walks in six games last week, and now has 12 in June with only 10 strikeouts. It's a remarkable spike in a discipline, and we'll see how long it can sustain.

Yes indeed, based on his history, that truly is a remarkable turnaround. Buxton has finally been playing like the player we had hoped he would be, but as you said, can he sustain this level of play ... and not end up on the IL again? Buxton or not, this team appears to be going nowhere fast. I'm in the "sell now" camp at this point. 

[thelanges5]

9 hours ago, Eris said:

“The Twins made zero MLB transactions over the past seven days, avoiding any new injuries ”

Castro was a scratch today because of a sore wrist that he originally injured in Cincinnati. While not expected to be put on the IL, Castro was presumably unavailable to PH for Bride in the 8th inning today with a runner on third. Why else is would we send Bride to bat with RISP trailing by 1 run, and down to the last 4 outs with Castro on the bench. 

If Castro is hurt he needs to go in the IL. Stop playing with a short bench. Dan Hayes article says he’ll miss 2-3 more games. 

[David Maro]

Lee missed 2 plays on slow rollers in the game. Later in the game Keirsey leading off is swinging away why. With his speed how about a bunt and test their defense. They are not playing baseball its all about the stupid helmet. Everyone is talking about oh boy Buxton got a leadoff HR. If you want to talk about the homerun France's was better because it was 2 runs and got them within 1 run. 

It's well past time for this manager to be gone. All anyone with any baseball knowledge has to do is look in the other dugout and see a real manager.

[rv78]

10 hours ago, howeda7 said:

At some point you have to do something. Fire Rocco and give Garenhire or Tingler a shot. It might not help but it sure can't hurt. 

They did. They brought in Bride, Clemens, Wentz. Traded Alcala for a minor leaguer. They are very good at making moves to make it look like they are doing something. Unfortunately the players they bring in are other teams castoffs and won't improve the team, which is obvious to even the casual fan. The moves they should make like firing Rocco or getting Correa to accept a trade to get out from under his over-paid worthless rearend will never happen because it would signify a mistake on their part and "the smartest guys in the room" can't have that happen. When Falvey and Levine took over, their goal, in their own words, was "to build a perrenial contender". What we have is a perrenial pretender.

[Rhyno006]

Quote

Bride did his part to put the game thoroughly out of reach, allowing five runs in his one inning of work,...

LOL but ouch too.

[hitterscount]

10 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

There’s no player accountability for making fundamental mistakes. Haven’t had that in years. Why would Brooks high baseball IQ Lee care about hustling on a passed ball final out when he’s gonna be in the lineup tomorrow? Rocco probably whispered to him “Hey bruh, next time if you feel like it, jog it out low key.” 

There’s the fundamental flaw with our fanbase. What does a .500 club do for anyone? I couldn’t care less about competing for the last wild card spot and get dominated by better teams. Hell, we’ve seen better teams like Milwaukee run laps around us in every facet of the game. 

.500, love the optimism!

[beterday]

Thank you for the honest article.  I have stopped watching an unwatchable team play baseball, but still turn them on when I am in the house or in the car.  I'm paying $254.00 per month for cable just to get the Twins and that will stop this year....  But what I do hear and see is incomprehensible.  Mistakes that are unexplainable, Bader losing sight of catching the ball in trying to get a good throw to home, Castro with a lead-off double with tying or go ahead run, then getting thrown out going to 3rd on a grounder.  Shake your head kinda stuff.  Since the Houston series, muttering, "this is how good teams win games".  Time to give some new blood a chance, including Rocco gone.

 

[Woof Bronzer]

Brooks Lee is a great test case for something that has been bothering me about this team all year.  Obviously he grew up learning the fundamentals of the game and, presumably, understood them, practiced them, mastered them with guidance from his dad.  In college he was a solid defender and well-rounded player who consistently did the little things right.  In his draft year he was one of the best, most well-rounded players available.  

Fast forward to year 2 in MLB and he is a lazy defender who doesn't hustle and seems to fall asleep from time to time.  He's obviously living his childhood dream of playing in the majors...but looks uninterested or distracted or just...off.  

Why?  How does a player forget how to play defense and execute fundamentals after just 2 years with the Twins?  Not stressing those things as an organization only explains part of it.  There is something going on that even professional pride seemingly can't overcome

How do we explain this? 

I suspect the rot in this organization runs much, much deeper than we know.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

I’m pretty sure this would be too messy to actually figure out, but Bride, as a position player, pitching four times in 15 games has got to be some sort of (sad) record.  Surely Elias must have stats on this some where.  

[William K Johnson]

I know I am going to take a lot of heat for this comment, but if we fall out of WC contention and a total rebuild seems the only way out, perhaps it is time to trade Buxton.   This is coming from a guy who wants to trade his favorite player.   I have two reasons for my suggestion: first, right now Buxton would bring a ton of young talent.  Secondly, Buxton needs to be on a team where his talents can be exposed to the entire baseball world.   It also gives him a chance to be in a playoff run with an organization that wants to win.  Watching him excel every day on this team that is quite honestly going nowhere is a disservice to the player.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

2 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Brooks Lee is a great test case for something that has been bothering me about this team all year.  Obviously he grew up learning the fundamentals of the game and, presumably, understood them, practiced them, mastered them with guidance from his dad.  In college he was a solid defender and well-rounded player who consistently did the little things right.  In his draft year he was one of the best, most well-rounded players available.  

Fast forward to year 2 in MLB and he is a lazy defender who doesn't hustle and seems to fall asleep from time to time.  He's obviously living his childhood dream of playing in the majors...but looks uninterested or distracted or just...off.  

Why?  How does a player forget how to play defense and execute fundamentals after just 2 years with the Twins?  Not stressing those things as an organization only explains part of it.  There is something going on that even professional pride seemingly can't overcome

How do we explain this? 

I suspect the rot in this organization runs much, much deeper than we know.

Your point is well taken, but part of the issue is also that everything is harder in MLB than it is in college, or even AAA.  The ball is hit harder, moves faster, comes off the bat weirder from better pitching, etc.    I’m not defending, his lapses, but often it’s not as easy as trying harder, and equally often, that “hustle” is just false hustle or urgency produced by poor playing position.  

[PDX Twin]

Slumbering bats. Lumbering legs. Exhausted, inconsistent arms. They have it all.

[NYCTK]

34 minutes ago, beterday said:

I'm paying $254.00 per month for cable just to get the Twins and that will stop this year....

My guy! MLB.TV is $30 a month or if you're in the Minnesota market, Twins TV is $20! 

[Mike Sixel]

3 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

If Castro is hurt he needs to go in the IL. Stop playing with a short bench. Dan Hayes article says he’ll miss 2-3 more games. 

I don't get why they continue to do this year after year. Every year. Another reason to fire them all. 

[Mike Sixel]

38 minutes ago, Woof Bronzer said:

Brooks Lee is a great test case for something that has been bothering me about this team all year.  Obviously he grew up learning the fundamentals of the game and, presumably, understood them, practiced them, mastered them with guidance from his dad.  In college he was a solid defender and well-rounded player who consistently did the little things right.  In his draft year he was one of the best, most well-rounded players available.  

Fast forward to year 2 in MLB and he is a lazy defender who doesn't hustle and seems to fall asleep from time to time.  He's obviously living his childhood dream of playing in the majors...but looks uninterested or distracted or just...off.  

Why?  How does a player forget how to play defense and execute fundamentals after just 2 years with the Twins?  Not stressing those things as an organization only explains part of it.  There is something going on that even professional pride seemingly can't overcome

How do we explain this? 

I suspect the rot in this organization runs much, much deeper than we know.

Humans have bad days. He didn't forget anything. It's not more complicated than that.

[Riverbrian]

Ups Downs. It’s a 162 game ride. 
 

[RpR]

55 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Humans have bad days. He didn't forget anything. It's not more complicated than that.

His whole season with the glove is going down hill, not, bad days.

[Doctor Gast]

After the '24 offseason, I predicted that the Twins would finish in 4th place because of the offseason transactions. I had predicted the same after this offseason. While still being a firm believer in this core & deep hope that the Twins would change their mindset of big bat is everything & heck to with everything else. 

It's a pleasure to watch a team like MIL playing baseball the right way & wish the Twins could copy them instead of the NYY. You wonder why we always get embarrassed by the NYY? It's because we are a very inferior copy of them, because we can't come close to competing with them in FA to fill our needs.

You say it's not too late. If we don't change our identity, it's too late & a long time overdue. Twins need to be a lot more proactive. Lopez has been injured for almost 3 weeks & nothing has been done. They are waiting for everything to unravel 1st & put a band-aid on it.

IMO, we can be a better version of MIL.

 

[RpR]

13 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

The pitching has been a little disappointing lately but until such time as the Twins roster players who actually turn batted balls into outs I'm simply sympathetic to the plight of the pitchers. The pitchers cannot throw balls down in the zone with runners on base because those are not blocked. Grounders slide through and our outfielders wait a fair amount of time to determine where the ball is going which often results in drops. One can blame the pitchers but I wonder how different our pitchers would look in front of Milwaukee defenders. 

A very good and very true observation.  

A manage who is just one of the boys, maybe, one reason, such performance continues.

I did not watch the managers interview last night, but I assume, it was  a - well we did not quite....

[Heiny]

This team is so bad.  "How bad is it?"  Starting pitching has gone from "supposedly one of the best in the league to one of the worst.  Starting pitching depth has gone from one of the best in the league to one of the worst.  Bulpen has gone from one of the best in the league to what the hell is going on?  Our offense has gone from pitiful to, well, pitiful.  Can't bunt, watching strike 3 in all situations including critical situations.  Can't score runners from scoring position with less than two outs.  We keep players on the roster that don't belong in the major league like Bride, Kiersey, neither of whom can hit a baseball.  Base running is poor.  Defense is poor.  Don't seem to understand situational hitting.  With a few exceptions there seems to be a lack of hustle.  What is the common denominator?  Management and coaching.  Where do we go from here?  A good start would be to replace the manager, pitching coach and third base coach.  Yep, I went there again.  But hey, Twins baseball is downright disgusting.  Time for some changes.

[Larry Janisewski]

2 hours ago, PDX Twin said:

Slumbering bats. Lumbering legs. Exhausted, inconsistent arms. They have it all.

Exactly!! But the Brewers started the same 8 position players batting in the same position in the order all 3 days vs the Twins (including their catcher) in extremely hot and humid conditions with great success.